Pathobiology of Cancer and Other Diseases
Cancer is characterized primarily by an increase in the number of abnormal cells derived from a given normal tissue, invasion of adjacent tissues by these abnormal cells, or lymphatic or blood-borne spread of malignant cells to regional lymph nodes and to distant sites (metastasis). Clinical data and molecular biologic studies indicate that cancer is a multistep process that begins with minor preneoplastic changes, which may under certain conditions progress to neoplasia. The neoplastic lesion may evolve clonally and develop an increasing capacity for invasion, growth, metastasis, and heterogeneity, especially under conditions in which the neoplastic cells escape the host's immune surveillance. Roitt, I., Brostoff, J and Kale, D., Immunology, 17.1-17.12 (3rd ed., Mosby, St. Louis, Mo., 1993).
There is an enormous variety of cancers which are described in detail in the medical literature. Examples include cancers of the lung, colon, rectum, prostate, breast, brain, and intestine. The incidence of cancer continues to climb as the general population ages, as new cancers develop, and as susceptible populations (e.g., people infected with AIDS or excessively exposed to sunlight) grow. However, options for the treatment of cancer are limited. For example, in the case of blood cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), few treatment options are available, especially when conventional chemotherapy fails and bone-marrow transplantation is not an option. A tremendous demand therefore exists for new methods and compositions that can be used to treat patients with cancer.
Many types of cancers are associated with new blood vessel formation, a process known as angiogenesis. Several of the mechanisms involved in tumor-induced angiogenesis have been elucidated. The most direct of these mechanisms is the secretion by the tumor cells of cytokines with angiogenic properties. Examples of these cytokines include acidic and basic fibroblastic growth factor (a,b-FGF), angiogenin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and TNF-α. Alternatively, tumor cells can release angiogenic peptides through the production of proteases and the subsequent breakdown of the extracellular matrix where some cytokines are stored (e.g., b-FGF). Angiogenesis can also be induced indirectly through the recruitment of inflammatory cells (particularly macrophages) and their subsequent release of angiogenic cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, b-FGF).
A variety of other diseases and disorders are also associated with, or characterized by, undesired angiogenesis. For example, enhanced or unregulated angiogenesis has been implicated in a number of diseases and medical conditions including, but not limited to, ocular neovascular diseases, choroidal neovascular diseases, retina neovascular diseases, rubeosis (neovascularization of the angle), viral diseases, genetic diseases, inflammatory diseases, allergic diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Examples of such diseases and conditions include, but are not limited to, diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, corneal graft rejection, neovascular glaucoma, retrolental fibroplasia, arthritis, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy.
Accordingly, compounds that can control angiogenesis or inhibit the production of certain cytokines, including TNFα, may be useful in the treatment and prevention of various diseases and conditions.
Methods of Treating Cancer
Current cancer therapy may involve surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and/or radiation treatment to eradicate neoplastic cells in a patient (see, e.g., Stockdale, 1998, Medicine, vol. 3, Rubenstein and Federman, eds., Chapter 12, Section IV). Recently, cancer therapy could also involve biological therapy or immunotherapy. All of these approaches pose significant drawbacks for the patient. Surgery, for example, may be contraindicated due to the health of a patient or may be unacceptable to the patient. Additionally, surgery may not completely remove neoplastic tissue. Radiation therapy is only effective when the neoplastic tissue exhibits a higher sensitivity to radiation than normal tissue. Radiation therapy can also often elicit serious side effects. Hormonal therapy is rarely given as a single agent. Although hormonal therapy can be effective, it is often used to prevent or delay recurrence of cancer after other treatments have removed the majority of cancer cells. Biological therapies and immunotherapies are limited in number and may produce side effects such as rashes or swellings, flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills and fatigue, digestive tract problems or allergic reactions.
With respect to chemotherapy, there is a variety of chemotherapeutic agents available for treatment of cancer. A majority of cancer chemotherapeutics act by inhibiting DNA synthesis, either directly or indirectly by inhibiting the biosynthesis of deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate precursors, to prevent DNA replication and concomitant cell division. Gilman et al., Goodman and Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, Tenth Ed. (McGraw Hill, New York).
Despite availability of a variety of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapy has many drawbacks. Stockdale, Medicine, vol. 3, Rubenstein and Federman, eds., ch. 12, sect. 10, 1998. Almost all chemotherapeutic agents are toxic, and chemotherapy causes significant, and often dangerous side effects including severe nausea, bone marrow depression, and immunosuppression. Additionally, even with administration of combinations of chemotherapeutic agents, many tumor cells are resistant or develop resistance to the chemotherapeutic agents. In fact, those cells resistant to the particular chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment protocol often prove to be resistant to other drugs, even if those agents act by different mechanism from those of the drugs used in the specific treatment. This phenomenon is referred to as pleiotropic drug or multidrug resistance. Because of the drug resistance, many cancers prove or become refractory to standard chemotherapeutic treatment protocols.
Other diseases or conditions associated with, or characterized by, undesired angiogenesis are also difficult to treat. However, some compounds such as protamine, hepain and steroids have been proposed to be useful in the treatment of certain specific diseases. Taylor et al., Nature 297:307 (1982); Folkman et al., Science 221:719 (1983); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,116 and 4,994,443.
Still, there is a significant need for safe and effective methods of treating, preventing and managing cancer and other diseases and conditions, including for diseases that are refractory to standard treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, while reducing or avoiding the toxicities and/or side effects associated with the conventional therapies.
Solid Forms
The preparation and selection of a solid form of a pharmaceutical compound is complex, given that a change in solid form may affect a variety of physical and chemical properties, which may provide benefits or drawbacks in processing, formulation, stability and bioavailability, among other important pharmaceutical characteristics. Potential pharmaceutical solids include crystalline solids and amorphous solids. Amorphous solids are characterized by a lack of long-range structural order, whereas crystalline solids are characterized by structural periodicity. The desired class of pharmaceutical solid depends upon the specific application; amorphous solids are sometimes selected on the basis of, e.g., an enhanced dissolution profile, while crystalline solids may be desirable for properties such as, e.g., physical or chemical stability (see, e.g., S. R. Vippagunta et al., Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev., (2001) 48:3-26; L. Yu, Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev., (2001) 48:27-42).
Whether crystalline or amorphous, potential solid forms of a pharmaceutical compound include single-component and multiple-component solids. Single-component solids consist essentially of the pharmaceutical compound in the absence of other compounds. Variety among single-component crystalline materials may potentially arise, e.g., from the phenomenon of polymorphism, wherein multiple three-dimensional arrangements exist for a particular pharmaceutical compound (see, e.g., S. R. Byrn et al., Solid State Chemistry of Drugs, (1999) SSCI, West Lafayette). The importance of studying polymorphs was underscored by the case of Ritonavir, an HIV protease inhibitor that was formulated as soft gelatin capsules. About two years after the product was launched, the unanticipated precipitation of a new, less soluble polymorph in the formulation necessitated the withdrawal of the product from the market until a more consistent formulation could be developed (see S. R. Chemburkar et al., Org. Process Res. Dev., (2000) 4:413-417).
Additional diversity among the potential solid forms of a pharmaceutical compound may arise, e.g., from the possibility of multiple-component solids. Crystalline solids comprising two or more ionic species may be termed salts (see, e.g., Handbook of Pharmaceutical Salts: Properties, Selection and Use, P. H. Stahl and C. G. Wermuth, Eds., (2002), Wiley, Weinheim). Additional types of multiple-component solids that may potentially offer other property improvements for a pharmaceutical compound or salt thereof include, e.g., hydrates, solvates, co-crystals and clathrates, among others (see, e.g., S. R. Byrn et al., Solid State Chemistry of Drugs, (1999) SSCI, West Lafayette). Moreover, multiple-component crystal forms may potentially be susceptible to polymorphism, wherein a given multiple-component composition may exist in more than one three-dimensional crystalline arrangement. The preparation of solid forms is of great importance in the development of a safe, effective, stable and marketable pharmaceutical compound.
Provided herein are embodiments addressing a need for solid forms of 3-(5-amino-2-methyl-4-oxo-4H-quinazolin-3-yl)-piperidine-2,6-dione (“Compound A”). Compound A was described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,635,700, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.